The traveling pilgrimage statue of Our Lady of Fatima, a duplicate of the one at the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal, was commissioned in 1947 to travel the world, sharing the message of Our Lady of Fatima, who appeared six times to three shepherd children in 1917. CNS photo/Natalie Hoefer, The Criterion

To view Bishop O'Connell's formal statement on the Holy Father's granting a plenary indulgence for the Fatima centennial, click here.

In an advisory proclamation dated May 5, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., has informed his flock of the Plenary Indulgence opportunity granted by Pope Francis in connection with the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions. The indulgence is part of the Our Lady of Fatima Centennial, which began Nov. 27, 2016 and extends until Nov. 26, 2017.

The Bishop explains the three ways to obtain the plenary indulgence, detailed in a statement from the Fatima Shrine in Portugal. His text follows:

Pope Francis has granted a plenary indulgence* opportunity for the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions throughout the centennial year, from the 27th of November 2016 till the 26th of November 2017

There are three ways to obtain the plenary indulgence, detailed in a statement from the Fatima Shrine in Portugal.

To obtain the plenary indulgence, the faithful who follow one of these three ways must also fulfill the ordinary conditions: (1) go to Confession and Communion,(2) be interiorly detached from sin, and (3) pray for the intentions of the Holy Father, usually the Creed, the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be. The three ways are:

1. Make a pilgrimage to the Fatima Shrine In Portugal:

To the faithful who make a pilgrimage to the Fatima Shrine in Portugal and participate in a celebration of prayer dedicated to the Virgin. In addition, the faithful must pray the Our Father, recite the Creed and invoke the Mother of God. OR,

2. Pray before any statue of Our Lady of Fatima

To the faithful who visit with devotion a statue of Our Lady of Fatima solemnly exposed for public veneration in any church, oratory or proper placeduring the days of the anniversary of the apparitions, the 13th of each month from May to October 2017, and there devoutly participate in some celebration or prayer in honor of the Virgin Mary. In addition, the faithful must pray the Our Father, recite the Creed and invoke Our Lady of Fatima.

3. The elderly and infirm

To the faithful who, because of age, illness or other serious cause, are unable to get around, may pray in front of a statue of Our Lady of Fatima and must spiritually unite themselves to the jubilee celebrations on the days of the apparitions, the 13th of each month, between May and October 2017. They must also “offer to merciful God with confidence, through Mary, their prayers and sufferings or the sacrifices they make in their own lives.”

*"An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints (canon 992 and Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1471).” A plenary indulgence is a complete remission of temporal punishment due to sins and is limited to one per day.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

Respectfully yours in the Lord,Most Reverend David M. O’Connell, C.M., J.C.D.Bishop of Trenton